you never hear of Arion! Have you
forgotten about the Syrens? Believe me, your gudgeon nibbled because I
sang him to the surface--just as the snakes come out for the song of the
snake-charmer. I'll try again!"

And with this he began:--

"Jeannette est une brune
Qui demeure a Pantin,
Ou toute sa fortune
Est un petit jardin!"

"Well, if you go on like that, all I have to say is, that not a fish
will come within half a mile of our bait," said I, with
tranquil despair.

"Alas! _mon cher_, I am grieved to observe in your otherwise estimable
character, a melancholy want of faith," replied Mueller "Without faith,
what is friendship? What is angling? What is matrimony? Now, I tell you
that with regard to the finny tribe, the more I charm them, the more
enthusiastically they will flock to be caught. We shall have a
miraculous draught in a few minutes, if you are but patient."

And then he began again:--

"Mimi Pinson est une blonde,
Une blonde que l'on connait.
Elle n'a qu'une robe au monde,
Landerirette!
Et qu'un bonnet."

I laid aside my rod, folded my arms, and when he had done, applauded
ironically.

"Very good," I said. "I understand the situation. We are here, at
some--indeed, I may say, considering the state of our exchequer, at a
considerable mutual expense; not to catch fish, but to afford Herr
Mueller an opportunity of exercising his extensive memory, and his
limited baritone voice. The entertainment is not without its
_agrements_, but I find it dear at the price."

"_Tiens_, Arbuthnot! let us fish seriously. I promise not to open my
lips again till you have caught something."

"Then, seriously, I believe you would have to be silent the whole night,
and all I should catch would be the rheumatism. I am the worst angler in
the world, and the most unlucky."

"Really and truly?"

"Really and truly. And you?"

"As bad as yourself. If a tolerably large and energetic fish did me the
honor to swallow my bait, the probability is that he would catch me. I
certainly shouldn't know what to do with him."

"Then the present question is--what shall we do with ourselves?"

"I vote that we row up as far as yonder bend in the river, just to see
what lies beyond; and then back to Courbevoie."

"Heaven only grant that by that time we shall have enough money left for
dinner!" I murmured with a sigh.

We rowed up the river as far as the first bend, a distance